But the state lieth in all languages of good and evil; andwhatever it saith it lieth; and whatever it hath it hath stolen. False is everything in it; with stolen teeth it biteth, the bitingone. False are even its bowels. Confusion of language of good and evil; this sign I give unto you asthe sign of the state. Verily, the will to death, indicateth thissign! Verily, it beckoneth unto the preachers of death!

The state protects people from outside forces (military), other people (judiciary), and businesses (regulatory). In the industrialized world the state provides education and healthcare. It also progressively taxes people and business based on their net income in order to provide for those incapable of providing for themselves, in addition to running its other services.

PAINTRAINDave wrote:The state protects people from outside forces (military), other people (judiciary), and businesses (regulatory). In the industrialized world the state provides education and healthcare. It also progressively taxes people and business based on their net income in order to provide for those incapable of providing for themselves, in addition to running its other services.

A 6 year old would get most of that... I think... lol

Where does it get its money from?You say progressive taxing... Is it voluntary? or is it mandatory?Caring for the incapable seems like a morally good cause, why are mandatory taxes needed to provide care for the less fortunate?And with the same logic, why can't people themselves provide education or healthcare?

Is it a wild leap to think that government should provide housing and food aswell?

What if the majority of the people want to put Jews in the gas chamber. Is that morally defendable "because most guys wanted it"?2 rapists and a hottie wash up on uninhabited island,... majority rule is virtuous!Ok, very radical examples.

These are just my opinions! Just brainstorming

I come back on my question: If most people want it, why don't they just do it themselves without forcing other people (through taxation) to do the same thing??? That question has been bothering me for quite some time.

In economics, a public good is a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous in that individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others. Gravelle and Rees: "The defining characteristic of a public good is that consumption of it by one individual does not actually or potentially reduce the amount available to be consumed by another individual". Public goods include fresh air, knowledge, public infrastructure[dubious – d...

National Defense is the most applicable here. Someone has to pay for defense (obviously) but those not paying cannot be practically excluded from receiving its benefit. Thus, it makes the most sense to force everybody to pay.

In economics, a public good is a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous in that individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others. Gravelle and Rees: "The defining characteristic of a public good is that consumption of it by one individual does not actually or potentially reduce the amount available to be consumed by another individual". Public goods include fresh air, knowledge, public infrastructure[dubious – d...

National Defense is the most applicable here. Someone has to pay for defense (obviously) but those not paying cannot be practically excluded from receiving its benefit. Thus, it makes the most sense to force everybody to pay.

So killing people financed through extortion makes sense?What if there is nothing to defend against?Would you march down to Iraq or Afghanistan just because some stranger told you to?

I'm not going to respond to those questions because they are completely unrelated to what I wrote. And a 6 year old wouldn't ask them.

If you want to argue against me, you would structure this argument around the points I have made, that is one or both of:1) National Defense is not a public good2) Just because it is a public good does not mean it should be financed by force.